Stay or Go? Relatives of MH370 Passengers Debate Flying to Malaysia

A policeman makes passports for relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysian Airline flight. See more photos.

Zuma Press

More than 48 hours after passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared, many Chinese family members of the missing are grappling with the decision of whether to board a flight they hope will lead them to more answers.

Malaysia Airlines representative Ignatius Ong announced Monday at the Metropark Lido Hotel in Beijing, where passengers’ next-of-kin have been staying, that the next flight to Kuala Lumpur is at 1:30 Tuesday morning.

Relatives of passengers walked out of passport consultation, deciding on whether to fly to Malaysia for more answers. See more photos.

Laurie Burkitt/The Wall Street Journal

The company is trying to organize a dedicated charter flight to airlift families Tuesday, but it depends whether there is enough interest among the families, Mr. Ong said.

There may be little interest, as many are beginning to realize that there will be no more details released in Malaysia than at home, 2,500 miles away.

Guo Qishun whose son-in-law was on the flight, said that few among the Chinese families plan to leave. “No one wants to go to Malaysia. If we go we’ll just be waiting around, which is the same as we’re doing here,” said Mr. Guo, who is from China’s inland Henan province.

Over the weekend, Malaysia Airlines set up rooms designated for expedited visa and passport applications. Families lined up, filling out paperwork and taking photos for passports. With little information coming out of Beijing, many believed that being closer to the airlines’ headquarters might lead them to additional facts they’ve been seeking with every passing minute.

Waiting to get his passport picture taken Sunday, a man in a khaki jacket, who declined to give his name, comforted a woman next to him, saying, “It may be worth it, we don’t know.”

Yet the sentiment hovering over these applicants was that they were applying for passports they weren’t sure they would use.

“They told us we could go to Malaysia, but what would we do there–continue to wait for news and struggle to do that in a foreign language?” asked Zhang Hui, who also traveled to Beijing from Henan in search of more clues about her 60-year-old sister. “There is no news,” said Ms. Zhang.

The Australian navy cruiser HMAS Perth searching the southern Indian Ocean for signs of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Authorities believe they are closing in after search crews regained contact with underwater pings, first detected over the weekend, consistent with locator beacons attached to the jet's flight recorders..
Abis Nicolas Gonzalez/European Pressphoto Agency…

The Australian navy vessel Ocean Shield towing, deep beneath the surface, a U.S. Navy device designed to hear a black box's pings, and a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, dropping sonar buoys meant to help triangulate any signals and locate the source.
Australian Defence Force/Handout via Reuters…

Angus Houston, a retired air chief marshal and head of the Australian agency coordinating the search, and Commodore Peter Leavy of the Royal Australian Navy, delivering an update on the state of the search in Perth on April 9.
Richard Polden/Reuters…

A Japanese P3C plane getting a sendoff from Japanese and Malaysian officials as it left Subang Airbase near Kuala Lumpur for Perth on April 9 to join the search.
Ahmad Yusni/European Pressphoto Agency…

Zhang Zhiliang of Tianjin, China, reading a letter from his fiancée, Li Jie, a passenger on the missing Malaysia Airlines .Flight 370.
Tencent/Muyi/Reuters…

Angus Houston declaring on April 7 that searchers over the weekend got their 'most promising lead' so far—two extended signals from deep underwater that were consistent with black-box locator beacons.
Greg Wood/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

A S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter returning to the Australian's Navy's HMAS Success after a search session April 7.
Australian Defence Force/Handout/Reuters…

An April 6 photo showed the HMAS Success as it completed an at-sea replenishment with a Royal Malaysian Navy frigate during the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Cpois David Connolly/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

An April 5 photo showed Australian Cmdr. James Lybrand and Capt. Nick Woods as they searched for the missing jet in the southern Indian Ocean.
Lsis Bradley Darvill/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Bradley Fox kept a lookout from the HMAS Success on April 3 for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
Abis Julianne Cropley/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

A South Korean navy P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft being prepared for takeoff March 27 at the Royal Australian Air Force Base Pearce, north of Perth, before flying over the southern Indian Ocean in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Australian Defence Force/Reuters…

Aboard a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion out on the search March 26.
Paul Kane/Pool/Reuters…

A Malaysian air force general facing questions from relatives of Flight 370 passengers at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 26.
Wang Zhaowang/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Relatives of Flight 370 passengers dealing with the media at the same Beijing hotel that same day.
Wang Zhaowang/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Flight 370 family members being squeezed by police during a protest near the Beijing hotel on March 25.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters…

Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya and Chairman Nor Yusof during a news conference at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Tuesday. China demanded Tuesday that Malaysia turn over the satellite data it used to conclude that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, crashed in the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors.
Vincent Thian/Associated Press…

A member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force waved at crew members of a Lockheed P-3C Orion aircraft that was heading off from Malaysia's Subang Airport to help with the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Two P-3C Japanese aircraft headed toward Australia on Sunday, March 23.
Edgar Su/Reuters…

Cyclists observed a moment of silence during "The Ride of Prayer" outside the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Sunday. Search planes headed back out to the southern Indian Ocean on Sunday in hopes of finding clues related to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. On Saturday, China released a satellite image showing a large floating object in the search zone.
Joshua Paul/Associated Press…

A still image taken from a March 22 video showed an object spotted in the southern Indian Ocean by the China National Space Administration's Gaofen-1 high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite. Chinese satellites spotted objects floating in the southern Indian Ocean search area for MH370 that could be debris and they sent ships to investigate.
CCTV/Reuters TV…

A crew member on the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong searched for the missing MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean on Sunday.
hang Jiansong/Xinhua/Zuma Press…

A relative of an MH370 passenger spoke to journalists in Beijing on Sunday about her frustration with regards to search information.
Ng Han Guan/Associated Press…

A member of the Royal Malaysian Air Force checked used a smartphone in Subang, Malaysia on Sunday.
Lai Seng Sin/Associated Press…

Relatives of passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 consoled each other before a meeting with airline officials at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing on Thursday, March 20.
Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Satellite imagery provided to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority could be of debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in an area 185 kilometers (115 miles) southeast of the original search area Thursday.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority/Reuters…

A man wrote messages and well-wishes for family members of passengers aboard the missing plane inside a shopping mall in Putrajaya Thursday.
Samuel Said/Reuters…

Australian Maritime Safety Authority Emergency Response Division General Manager John Young spoke to the media about satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search for flight MH370 Thursday in Canberra, Australia.
Stefan Postles/Getty Images…

Relatives of passengers gathered at a television viewing room for news programs at a hotel in Beijing Thursday.
Rolex dela Pena/European Pressphoto Agency…

RAAF Flight Sgt. Tom Stewart studied his radar screen on board an AP-3C Orion over the Southern Indian Ocean during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.
Associated Press…

Maintenance workers conducted checks on a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft after its arrival at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia. The aircraft is to join the Australian Maritime Safety Authority-led search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean.
Getty Images…

A family member of a missing relative from China who was on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 broke down as she spoke to the media at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Wednesday.
Azhar Rahim/European Pressphoto Agency…

Screens showing flight information and a 'Pray for MH370'" sign, left, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Wednesday.
Edgar Su/Reuters…

Artwork conveys well-wishes for the passengers and crew of the missing plane at a viewing gallery in Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Wednesday.
Edgar Su/Reuters…

Women wrote on the 'wall of hope' for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 18.
Ahmad Yusni/European Pressphoto Agency…

A relative of a passenger waits for a news briefing by Malaysia Airlines officials at a hotel in Beijing on March 18.
Andy Wong/Associated Press…

A message of support on the 'wall of hope' at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Ahmad Yusni/European Pressphoto Agency…

A relative of a missing passenger answered questions from the media at the Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 18.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images…

People holding balloons pose next to a message reading 'Pray for MH370' during an event held for passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, in Kuala Lumpur, on March 17.
Lai Seng Sin/Associated Press…

Students watched artists finish a school-ground painting inspired by the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Philippine city of Makati on March 17.
Romeo Ranoco/Reuters…

Sailors inspected the flight deck of the USS Kidd, employed to search the Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, on Sunday, March 16.
U.S. Navy…

Relatives of passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 chatted after a meeting with the airline's representatives at the Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 16. On Saturday, March 15, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said "deliberate action" caused the disappearance of the plane.
Jason Lee/Reuters…

Visitors wrote messages on a banner for passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 16.
Mohd Rasfan/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

A family member of a Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 passenger spoke on the phone at the Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 16.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images…

A Malaysian army paratrooper stood guard between banners with messages for passengers of the missing flight in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 16.
Edgar Su/Reuters…

A passenger's relative posed a question to Malaysia Airlines representatives at the Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 16.
Jason Lee/Reuters…

A Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency pilot studied a map onboard a Japanese aircraft customized for search and rescue operations, as they looked for the missing plane in the South China Sea on March 15.
Edgar Su/Reuters…

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at Saturday's news conference. The last communication from a Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared a week ago came from one of two possible corridors spanning a wide region that stretches from Kazakhstan in north Asia to the southern Indian Ocean, Razak said.
Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

Malaysian Muslims offer Friday prayers during a special prayer session for passengers of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport mosque in Sepang on March 14.
Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images…

College students light candles to pray for the passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, at Yangzhou University in China's Jiangsu Province on March 13.
Meng Delong/Xinhua/ZUMAPRESS.com…

The Royal Malaysian Navy corvette KD Terengannu and a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney conducted a coordinated search in the Gulf of Thailand on Wednesday, March 12.
Reuters…

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